Principles of the political system of the Republic of Poland (original) (raw)
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Introduction to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland
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The adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which was concluded on 2 April 1997 by the National Assembly and was followed by its acceptanceaccording to the procedural regime of its adoption-in a national referendum on 25 May 1997, as well as its final entry into force on 17 October 1997, ended the long and tedious process of establishing the new Basic Law. The preparation and adoption of the new Constitution was a lengthy process in Poland, especially when compared to other post-socialist countries. This resulted, among others, from the opinion shared by the majority of the elites about the lesser importance of adopting the Constitution in relation to other pressing problems, mostly economic issues, that needed to be solved in the difficult time of transformation. The long duration of the work on the Constitution was also affected by fundamental disputes about the future system and emerging different orientations, each of which claimed the rightness of its own conception, and at the same time the redundancy, or even harmful effect, of the ideas promoted by their political adversaries. What should be mentioned here is that the above disputes were multidimensional and concerned axiological problems as well as detailed organisational and procedural solutions. The slow process of creating the new constitutional basis for the functioning of the state also correlated with the decomposition of the post-Solidarity milieu, which became divided after 1990 with regard to fundamental issues affecting their approach to the Constitution and its detailed solutions. At a certain point, the rival strands originating from a common Solidarity root started to promote different visions of the state and politics, presenting totally different approaches to the recent past and events that directly preceded [1] It began in the 1970s with the erosion of authoritarian regimes in southern Europe (Greece, Portugal, Spain), and later, after 1989, it gained momentum and spread over the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
The constitutional principle of decentralizing public power in the Polish legal system
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Decentralization of public power is one of the fundamental principles present in rule of law democracies. It is a constitutional principle that is materialized through the functioning of local self-government. The article concisely characterizes the decentralization of public power in Poland, with particular emphasis on the basic principles governing the functioning of local self-government. The author also points to problems related to the implementation of the said principle.
Axiology of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997. Some Reflections
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The fact that almost a quarter of a century has passed since the adoption of the Polish Constitution contributes to a reflection on its axiology. This article prompts the reinterpretation of the critical value that can be ‘decoded’ from the Basic Law. It seems that authors of the supreme law of the Republic of Poland were initially guided by slightly different ideals; however, broad case law has become a test of the timelessness and timeliness of the Constitution of 2 April 1997. From this perspective, the question of grounds for an amendment of the basic law is highly current and pertinent. However, this question seems secondary to an attempt to decode the constitutional values forming the foundation of the Polish legal system. In light of the above reflections, have the values pursued by authors of the Constitution become real, or have they just become a redundant ornament in the legal erudition devoid of any practical value? The search for answers should be embedded in an appropriate context or the will of the historical legislator. However, the author believes that the interpretation of a legal text should keep pace with the times; this is why a dynamic interpretation is extremely relevant.
Polish Political Institutions: Continuity and Change (1918-1989)
Political System of Poland: Tradition and Contemporaneity, eds. S. Sulowski, T. Słomka, Berlin: Peter Lange, 2021
Even though analysis of political institutions - their history, legal and political foundation, and systemic significance - are more and more often treated as a kind of anachronism, this type of research is without any doubt the starting point for any reflection on individual political systems. In our view, institutions contain tradition, reflect the mentality of social groups, customs, ways of conduct, sanctioned by legal or moral norms, respected in each society, as well as reflect the socio-political realities in which they exist. Thus, the process of institutional changes, which is the main axis of the analysis in this chapter, is a key aspect of subsequent civilization evolutions. The twentieth-century history of Poland abounded in several institutions essential for the functioning of the political system, however, in our opinion, two deserve a detailed reflection. The first will be the Senate, which is part of the legislative power, which underwent significant transformations in the 20th century (or even liquidation in a certain period, which was an expression of the prevailing ideology). The second is the institution of the head of state (both in an individual and collegial form), which is part of the executive branch, which, like the upper chamber of the parliament, was subject to a number of changes resulting from the prevailing socio-political realities and the ideological foundations of political systems. The starting point for the analysis below is the hypothesis that, despite several transformations in the Polish state, it was the classic institution that reflected the social and political realities of individual periods in the history of the twentieth-century Poland, as well as the ideological foundations for given political systems crystallised within them. Due to the above observation, in our analysis we will use not only a historical approach to selected institutions, but also a normative and cultural approach. In this perspective, it will be crucial, apart from the normative conditions, to look at the phenomenon of focusing by institutions the most important constitutive symbols and ideas for particular periods in the history of Poland. The analysis will be located between the legal and constitutional approach focusing on the reconstruction of legal norms regulating the field of politics and explaining the relationships between them, and the approach to the science of politics, which emphasizes the description and understanding of this reality.